Norwalk’s Nicaraguan sister city shares impact of recent violence

By R.A. Schuetz

Published
5:31 pm EDT, Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Anti-government demonstrators shout slogans in Managua, Nicaragua on May 16, 2018 while Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega attends the so-called "national dialogue" talks with Nicaragua's Roman Catholic bishops and the opposition in a bid to quell a month of anti-government unrest that has seen more than 50 people killed. less

Anti-government demonstrators shout slogans in Managua, Nicaragua on May 16, 2018 while Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega attends the so-called "national dialogue" talks with Nicaragua's Roman Catholic bishops and the opposition in a bid to quell a month of anti-government unrest that has seen more than 50 people killed. less

NORWALK — As negotiations between Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and protestors, mediated by the Roman Catholic Church, began Wednesday, Miguel Salinas canceled afternoon activities at the Community Center Campus in Nagarote, Norwalk’s sister city.

In an email, he explained, “Things were tense.”

So far, over 60 people — many of them students — are thought to have been killed by police who fired guns into crowds in Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, to break up protests sparked by a proposed change to social security. On Wednesday, protestors called for greater democracy, while the president warned that protests were causing economic instability.

Many are calling for Ortega to step down, drawing comparisons between him and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the dictator he helped overthrow in 1979. It was during the turmoil that followed — as Nicaragua became embroiled in the Contra War, leading to tens of thousands of deaths — that Norwalk became a sister city to Nagarote, sending resources and aid in what is now known as the Norwalk-Nagarote Sister City Project. The relationship remained strong in the decades that followed — the project has provided a tutoring program for elementary school students there, as well as an after-school program, an organic farm and a community center.

“The last time there was a mayoral election in Nagarote, both candidates for mayor had been involved in our program as kids,” said Elizabeth Gibbs, who was an original board member for the project. “I think that election emphatically shows the impact of the program.”

The school teaches computer skills, martial arts, dance, nutrition, sewing, guitar and cosmetology, among other subjects, and holds monthly workshops. such as how to navigate social media and distinguish real news from rumor, a particularly important skill during the confusion surrounding the protests. “It’s hard, even for us, the adults, to see what’s real and what’s not,” said Salinas, field director for the program. “You have to use your critical thinking skills and your prior knowledge.”

While protests in Nagarote, about 30 miles from Managua, have been peaceful compared to others in the country, the protests that began in April sometimes block roads, making it difficult for staff who live out of town to get to work. “We haven’t had painting or theater class for the past two weeks because the teachers can’t come here,” Salinas said.

Nonetheless, the staff is determined to keep the Community Center Campus open.

“We want to prove that safe space for the kids to come,” he said.

While the center provides a physical haven from protests, the unrest still creeps into the school through questions students bring up and the resulting conversations. “The last 28 days have been a growing process in their critical thinking, because now they’re more aware of the issues in their country and the issues in their community,” Salinas said. “What we want to encourage them is to have their own critical thinking, to have their own opinion and to respect how other people think.”

He believes that by the time the tension has passed, the students will have deepened their maturity and investment in their community. It is the younger generation’s first brush with the political turmoil most of their parents and grandparents lived through.

“I’m 33 years old,” Salinas said. “I read the books, the history books. I hear the stories from my parents, my grandparents who lived through the war. And nobody wants to live through another. I think the majority of Nicaragua hopes that all this conflict will come to a peaceful conclusion. But I have to say, a lot of people are not feeling that positive, because the government continues using their weapons against the people.”

A fundraiser for the Norwalk-Nagarote Sister City Project will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday at 10 Wall St.; for tickets or donations, go to sistercityproject.org